This site has many important features that require Javascript. Your browser does not currently have Javascript enabled. Please follow these instructions to enable JavaScript in your browser. Thank you.

Neonatal Mortality Rate

What does it mean ?

Neonatal mortality rate refers to the number of deaths of neonates (newborn babies) that occur between birth and the first completed 28 days of life.
It is measured as the number of deaths in the first 28 days per every 1000 live births in a given year or period. A live birth refers to any baby that is born that shows signs of life outside of the womb.

Why does it matter ?

The majority of child deaths occur in the neonatal period. The neonatal mortality rate provides us with a general measure of the health environment during the earliest stages of life. It is a useful indicator of the quality of at birth in a country. Reducing neonatal mortality globally forms part of Sustainable Development Goal 3.2, to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.

How is it collected ?

If a country has a full birth and death registration system, then calculating Neonatal Mortality Rates (NMR) is simple as all births and deaths are recorded. Where registration systems are incomplete, information on the births and deaths of babies are obtained from household surveys where women are asked about every baby they have given birth to and how long the child survived or population censuses. To calculate the mortality estimate, the data from these sources are analysed statistically using a particular model designed by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Find out more about the Summary Definition and the Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Share this :

Close

Summary Definition, Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Alternative Data Sources

The data for each indicator on African Health Stats (AHS) are published by the UN agency, or UN inter-agency group, which holds responsibility for global monitoring of the indicator. This varies by indicator. Please refer to ‘Data Source’. AHS uses data from these sources because such data are internationally comparable and it is the mandate of those agencies to prepare such data and monitor progress internationally. In some cases the UN agency has made adjustments to the data in order to make national data internationally comparable, for example they may adjust national estimates to account for differences in survey design, the extent of potential underreporting, and the definition of what is being measured (eg. maternal deaths). This means that at times there may be discrepancies between national and international estimates. Individual countries may prefer to instead rely on national figures for national monitoring. For uniformity, AHS uses only international estimates of the UN agencies in data visualisations.

If a country has a full birth and death registration system, then calculating Neonatal Mortality Rates (NMR) is simple as all births and deaths are recorded. However, in most African countries, although registration is improving, it is often incomplete. Therefore other sources are used such as national surveys from a representative sample of households where women are asked about every baby they have given birth to and how long the child survived or population censuses. To calculate the mortality estimate, the data from these sources are fit to a regression line using a particular model generated by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

This site is managed by the African Union's Department of Social Affairs